Echoing chemical industry groups, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) are pressing EPA to rework its proposed TSCA rule regulating methylene chloride to allow all uses of the solvent to continue as long as companies meet worker-protection mandates.
Trade groups, congressional Republicans and attorneys are outlining arguments against OSHA’s proposal allowing third parties to accompany compliance officers on inspections even when they do not work for the company involved, ranging from claims that it is legally invalid to calling it the result of “regulatory voodoo.”
OSHA is proposing to reinstate and codify a controversial Obama-era guidance allowing third parties such as union representatives to accompany agency officials on inspections even when they do not work for the employer under review, saying the expanded approach will bolster worker representation in OSH Act enforcement.
Labor and environmental groups are pressing EPA to tighten its proposed rule limiting industrial use of perchloroethylene (PCE) in part by banning more uses of the solvent or even phasing it out entirely, saying the agency is relying too much on personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers while also neglecting risks to fenceline communities.
Charging their members are currently shut out of data that could be crucial to their safety, labor unions are urging EPA to require employers turn over a wide range of information on their TSCA new-chemical applications and compliance orders and are proposing a framework based on OSHA policies they say would protect confidential materials.
Industry groups are calling on EPA to rework its proposed TSCA rule for the solvent perchloroethylene (PCE) but are split on what approach it should adopt, with some seeking a more flexible policy under the chemicals law while at least one is pushing the agency to drop its worker-safety proposals and advance them through a joint rulemaking with OSHA.
As expected, California OSHA (Cal/SOHA) officials’ latest update to proposed first-time employee-safety rules for heat illness prevention at indoor worksites rejects pressure from worker-safety advocates and some of the agency’s standards board members to tighten the draft by lowering temperature thresholds that trigger protective actions.
Employer and industry groups are making last-ditch efforts to convince California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials to ease key sections of the agency’s proposal to strengthen worker-safety rules for lead exposure in the construction sector and general industry, ahead of an upcoming vote by a divided standards board on the measures.
Major unions are criticizing EPA for excluding organized labor from stakeholder discussions on its pending TSCA methylene chloride rule, warning that the failure to consult them led to significant omissions in the proposal’s workplace protections compared with OSHA standards -- even as they praise the agency’s strict occupational exposure limits for the solvent.
OSHA is proposing to formally require that construction employers ensure their personal protective equipment (PPE) fits workers, reviving an Obama-era plan that the agency originally advanced through the Standards Improvement Project (SIP) but dropped from that process when it drew industry opposition.